and you don't know that now? I can tell you that in 4 months of half assed games time Boston, New York, Miami, Chicago, Orlando(barring a trade) and NJ(after a trade) are going to be the teams competing in the east(probably forgetting something). In the West lets lock in Dallas, SA, LA and OKC.

Of course we know it now, we almost always do which is my problem with the NBA. What is the point of the other 25 teams?

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The regular season is pointless and excessively long as it is, why not make the top end product(the one you show the nation) better during that time? I don't care which of the mediocre teams finishes 7th and 8th and gets knocked out by the conference finals.

The fun part about the other leagues is the suspense of the higher ranked team getting knocked off. What's the fun of watching the Globetrotters play the Washington Generals for the first round? Because there are basically 20 Washington Generals in the league who are pointless.

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There just aren't enough stars for 30 teams to have stars, why spread them over 25 teams(you always have 5 truly awful teams anyway) when we could spread them over 5-10 and actually force those other teams to do something interesting.

Because then you won't know what's going to happen. Why watch an entire movie when someone already spoiled the ending for you? How is a league with 25 teams with a shot not better than a league with 5?

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Back in the 80s and 90s you had teams like Denver, they didn't have the talent of other teams but they tried something different to make it interesting and had some success. Iso basketball is dead boring as a fan, I want team work, which requires teammates worth passing to or that aren't turnstiles on defense.

I don't see how superteams avoid iso basketball. If anything it encourages it. See Heat, Miami.

To be clear, I still think what Stern is doing is absolute ******** and if all teams agree to the trade and it works under the CBA there shouldn't be a damn thing he can do about it.

So I don't know if this was addressed, but theoretically the lakers can carry on with the team they have. Amnesty Walton or Artest and still wind up with Paul. As long as that happens, they can then sign and trade for Howard. So basically, this makes it look like the league sort of allowed the two lower market teams to get no compensation. There's no way Stern stays on board for next season. No ******* way.

So I don't know if this was addressed, but theoretically the lakers can carry on with the team they have. Amnesty Walton or Artest and still wind up with Paul. As long as that happens, they can then sign and trade for Howard. So basically, this makes it look like the league sort of allowed the two lower market teams to get no compensation. There's no way Stern stays on board for next season. No ******* way.

There must be something good about Orlando given the amount of wealthy types that call it home and all.

The weather was good and the city was nice when I was there. Plus Disneyworldzzz!

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Because then you won't know what's going to happen. Why watch an entire movie when someone already spoiled the ending for you? How is a league with 25 teams with a shot not better than a league with 5?

It's not possible in the NBA, it will be 5 teams competing for a title regardless, that is the nature of basketball, so why not make those 5 teams as good as possible?

I can't remember the last time there were more than ~5 teams that could compete. On top of which, the owners walked out on that idea. I was all for it when something could be done about it but the owners ****** us fans over by bitching out. They could have fixed it and made basketball better but they chose not to. Given we have this model and the owners seem fine with it(if you want parity you need a hard cap as a starting block) we may as well get the best possible product, which is super teams.

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I don't see how superteams avoid iso basketball. If anything it encourages it. See Heat, Miami.

Miami is a horribly coached team that has nothing but 2 stars and a 3rd wheel who entirely doesn't fit with the other two, it also has no support cast. Miami isn't a super team, it's two stars and not a lot else.

The NBA actually currently has a crop of PGs that could make it fun again, we went through a 10 year period from about 1995 to 2005 where PG play was awful in the league and as a result it became isolation. With Paul, Rondo, Deron and several others we should be able to get some good fun teams to watch.

That said, we aren't allowed to have fun anymore or have emotion or play hard, that is my single biggest reason for hating Stern more than any other human. I want Oakley, Bad Boys, Mutombo and the finger wave, Jordan destroying souls. I want players that are allowed to care, that are allowed to show emotion.

He has basically taken the most emotional sport, where fans are closest to the players. The NBA is the closest real sport to WWE and Stern has spent the last decade doing everything he can to make those players robots, to take away emotion, to basically undermine it being a competitive sport.

I used to be a huge NBA fan now it's just a passing interest and the NBA finally is getting the talent level back up towards where it was in the 90s and I just can't care about the players because they are just nobodies. The greatest thing about "The Decision" was that LeBron actually showed who he was instead of being the robot he had been programmed into, even if it was a total accident that he did it. The NBA needs guys like Barkley and Magic again, it's a shame that the NBA's best personality is a commentator.

/rant

Also... I heart Danny Granger, that is just awesome, I kind of hope that the players revolt, that would be awesome.

I was going to not care about the NBA this year because of Paul to LA and that would have just been ******* annoying. But now that Stern decides what trades can and cannot go through, I care even less. Contract my team. Contract 7 other teams. No one will notice or care.

Paul and the NBAPA are talking litigation. Outrage from both the players and media is going to eventually push this deal through. It'll just add a crappy draft pick to make it "fair" so Stern can save face. Stern gives the NO a caretaker and then takes away all his power.

I was going to not care about the NBA this year because of Paul to LA and that would have just been ******* annoying. But now that Stern decides what trades can and cannot go through, I care even less. Contract my team. Contract 7 other teams. No one will notice or care.

They really wouldn't. ****, why stop at 7? Contract half the teams.

The NBA is still broken to a ridiculous degree and the lockout solved nothing. In any given year, there's going to continue to be 4-5 legitimate championship contenders and then a huge step down to everyone else making up the "also rans."

The best thing those other teams have to hope for is to draft a star and get a playoff appearance or two out of him before he skips town.

If Dwight really wants to go to the Nets...they better find a way to step up their offer.

The conversation would start with Brook Lopez, Marshon Brooks, and the two ****** 1st round picks, sadly.

They cant just take Howard/Turk for Lopez. The money wouldnt work...not too mention that's an utter raping.

But anyway, whatever happens...this potential deal is bound to underwhelm for Orlando. The Nets dont really have many enticing pieces to throw in for us, or to a third team, which could give us more value in return. :/

The only real benefit is that the Magic would clear an insane amount of salary. Howard, Turkoglu, and then they'd just use the amnesty clause on Arenas. In any case, we're going to get bent over if we deal with NJ.

Here's hoping we could get another team involved somehow...or even a team with a sign and trade type, ala Jeff Green, Afflalo, Nene...give me ******* something. :(

The "utter raping" you speak of...isn't that what happens to every team who trades a star? I forget who, but one analyst talking about it last year compared it to trading a dollar for four quarters (at best. Sometimes it's just 2 or 3 quarters...) And in the NBA, that whole dollar is more valuable.

At least when other stars get traded they usually net several young assets in return...with at least "potential". All the Nets have to offer is Lopez and two late rounders. This is why I was hoping LAC would get involved, because they have several young players that you could build around. But alas, Dwight doesnt want to go there and they're not interested anyway.

It'd be tough to get equal value, sure. But Lopez and future late picks...is a pretty low ball offer. And they cant really sweeten it that much.

Hell, the Lakers could even top the Nets offer with Bynum and Odom. And Orlando could flip Odom for more youth. It just sucks, because there really is nothing out there for Orlando.

I was going to not care about the NBA this year because of Paul to LA and that would have just been ******* annoying. But now that Stern decides what trades can and cannot go through, I care even less. Contract my team. Contract 7 other teams. No one will notice or care.

It is not every trade, it is the fact that the NBA owns the Hornets. It would be like saying I don't want to follow the league anymore because Jerry Buss blocked a trade.

It is not every trade, it is the fact that the NBA owns the Hornets. It would be like saying I don't want to follow the league anymore because Jerry Buss blocked a trade.

Except that the caretaker in charge of the Hornets pushed for the trade (this would be akin to Buss) and the league took the unprecedented step of vetoing the trade. Why did Stern bother to elect a caretaker and give him unanimous control if the goal was to force his small market agenda?